yep - identification is a neccessity so is protecting our borders from illegal alien/criminals and terrorists
On Aug 25, 11:41 am, Daniel Seigler <[email protected]> wrote: > these 'kids' are not the only ones facing this problem. I was a nomad for > almost two decades. In that time, i had met many that were 'on the streets' > because of lack of "proper identification". Some were there of their own > choice, like myself. Some were there that had no business being there. > Those were the ones that had been forcibly evicted from their homes, or they > had lost their primary source of income, or they just 'were lost without no > one to turn to'. And now, in MOST States, if you cannot prove WHO you are, > the local law enforcement has the "authority" to place you under arrest. For > the CRIME of no id? I feel for these individuals, but, short of a COMPLETE > change of the way the 'huddled masses' think, we are in a downward spiral to > a TOTAL 'documents or you don't exist' system. These people, because of the > lack of papers, are not even counted on City, State, or Federal rolls. I can > offer nothing for them except to say that they are in the position to > ACTIVELY change the system by working 'under the table', learning trades > through apprenticeships WITHOUT government interference, and 'shortchanging > the system' by NOT using FRN. Kinda wish I was part of that group, the way > things are going. > > --- On Sun, 8/23/09, J. Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: J. Miller <[email protected]> > Subject: [CCCC-USA] The troubles of being a "natural-born" citizen > To: > Date: Sunday, August 23, 2009, 1:28 PM > > Please feel free to forward this article to the people on your list. > > http://www.latimes. com/news/ local/la- me-nopapers23- 2009aug23, 0,6491517. > story > > No papers -- and little hope of advancement > People in their late teens or early 20s are seeking help establishing their > identities from a nonprofit law firm. Without documents, they cannot open a > bank account, obtain a job or enroll in college. > > 1 > 2 > next > > At 18, Jamal King was sent by the child welfare system into adulthood without > a single form of identification: no driver's license, no Social Security > card. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / March 19, 2009) > > Related > > Porschea Williams > > By Garrett Therolf > August 23, 2009 > > E-mail > Print > > Share > Text size > Many days, Jamal King stands at South Vermont Avenue and West 46th Street in > South Los Angeles, his muscled arms covered with tattoos flaunting his > membership in the Rolling 40s, a drug-running criminal gang. > > His former foster father often drives past slowly, wagging his finger. > > "I know people look at me and just see a gangbanger," King said. "It's not > really who I am. It's just temporary." > > But King's hope for a better life is hobbled by more than poverty and his > surroundings -- he lacks a birth certificate. > > He was born in a car 20 years ago as his mother tried to get to a hospital. > By age 2, he was being raised by Los Angeles County's child welfare system. > At 18, he was sent by the system into adulthood without a single form of > identification: no driver's license, no Social Security card, no way to prove > who he was. > > Unable to qualify for even an individual taxpayer identification number, he > has less ability to navigate through society than an illegal immigrant. He > can't open a bank account, obtain a job, receive government benefits, enroll > in higher education. > > "It's like I don't exist," King said. The only form of identification > recognized by authorities is his fingerprints. "In jail, they know exactly > who I am." > > Not long ago, a state assemblyman wanted King to travel to Sacramento to > testify about a bill designed to help get papers for people in his position. > King couldn't make the trip. No one could figure out a way around > identification requirements at the airport. > > King is among a small number of people in their late teens or early 20s who > have sought help establishing their identities from the Alliance for > Children’s Rights, a nonprofit law firm that works for abused and > impoverished youths out of a Wilshire Boulevard high-rise. > > Those without basic papers, like King, were usually born outside of > hospitals. No birth certificate was automatically generated, and their > parents never filed for one. > > State officials say it is difficult to know how many young people are > affected. At the alliance, managing attorney Lara Holtzman said her > organization typically hears about one new case a month. > > "And these are just the kids who somehow find us," she said. > > Eighteen-year- old Dominique Freeman of Los Angeles was born in a hotel room. > When she was 3 days old, the county began caring for her after her mother > tested positive for cocaine. > > The county eventually placed her in the care of her maternal aunt, whom she > credits with keeping her focused in school and ambitious about her future. > When she was 16, Freeman wanted to pursue a summer job, but her aunt told her > that the absence of a birth certificate would prevent that. > > "My aunt told me that the Department of Children and Family Services assured > her that they were going to do it for me," Freeman said. "My aunt said she > didn't know how to go about doing it because she was not the mother." > > Last year, Freeman was forced to turn down a scholarship to Cal State > Northridge and delay her admission for one year while she waited for her > papers. Now she spends most of her days watching television in the home of > extended family members. Freeman said she feels cut off from the world. > > "I have a lot of friends," she said, "but it's been hard because I can't > work, and I have no money and that means I can't go out with them." > > With help from the alliance, she received her birth certificate this summer > and will be able to start school in the fall. But it's been a terrible year > waiting. Her aunt died shortly after she lost her scholarship, and she has > survived on the good graces of relatives who offer her small amounts of cash > and a temporary place to sleep. > > In Panorama City, former foster child Sergio Romero, 18, also waits. Lacking > identification paperwork, Romero said, he cannot drive and doesn't qualify > for Native American benefits he believes he should be entitled to. He was > born in a hospital, and a birth certificate should have been issued, but it > has inexplicably disappeared. > > In all of the cases, Holtzman said, her firm has struggled to find a way to > expedite paperwork with the state, and she fears the process will drag on for > up to a year. For a delayed birth certificate to be issued, each client must > convince a judge that they were born in the U.S. and then wait for the state > to issue a certificate. > > In King's case, foster care officials and, later, juvenile probation > officials were long aware that he lacked basic identification documentation. > Although both agencies have procedures to obtain birth certificates for > children before they leave their systems, King was among an undetermined > number who fell through the cracks. > > Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) is sponsoring AB270, a bill in > the state Legislature that would strengthen the mandates that no children > leave the system without basic documents. It is currently stalled because of > the state's budget problems. > > "These situations offend our sensibilities because foster children are, in > essence, children of the state," De La Torre said. "We are being really > horrible parents in carrying out these basic aspects of preparing our young > people to be an adult." > > In King's neighborhood just south of Exposition Park, job openings at > fast-food restaurants attract lines that wrap around the block. Men his age > roam the streets aimlessly, drinking beer as they ride their bicycles, > crowding the basketball courts for hours at Vermont Square Park. > > King's final foster home is steps away from the corner where he now hangs > out. He was sent there at age 9, his 26th placement in seven years. Aubrey > Manuel, now 51, said he knew the young boy he was taking in had a violent > temper. King's outbursts against other children had led other foster parents > to ask that he be removed. > > But Manuel refused to send him away, and he eventually found ways to help > King work through his anger. > > "My mantra here is stability," Manuel said. "All of my children come from > multiple failed placements." > > Manuel said that when King turned 12, he began pressing social workers in the > Department of Children and Family Services to file for his birth certificate. > > "The answer," Manuel said, "was always: 'We're working on it.' " > > At age 14, King committed a robbery that sent him into the county probation > system. Over the next few years, more violations kept him a ward of the > Probation Department for the rest of his childhood. > > Records indicate that the department was aware he lacked a birth certificate, > but show no evidence of efforts to obtain one for him. > > "You can imagine how difficult this problem would have been for a probation > officer with a caseload of 70 problematic kids, trying to file this all > alone," said Jed Minoff, a probation official. > > Manuel said his foster care licensing agreement required him to prohibit King > from staying in the house after he turned 18 because of his criminal past. He > regretfully turned King away. > > King began to sleep on a small couch in a cramped backhouse across the > street. His friends there -- members of the Rolling 40s -- were themselves > kicked out of their families' homes or left behind when their parents moved > away. > > "All of the sudden, I look up and Jamal has all these gang tattoos," Manuel > recalled. "I said, 'What did you do?' He says, 'It's the only thing I got > right now.' It was just total desperation." > > King describes gang life as oddly nurturing, and most people he passes on the > street nod in recognition as they step across his gang moniker spray-painted > on the sidewalk. The territory of the Rolling 40s and its allies, he said, is > "so large you couldn't walk a circle around it in an afternoon." > > He is also mindful of his confinement and how much peril he is in. He has > dodged gunshots. "Those are my enemies," he said, pointing to men standing on > a corner two blocks away. "So that makes it a little dangerous to stand here." > > Although he walks the streets with emblems of prosperity -- new Nikes, a > flashy smart phone -- it's not hard to see how poor he is. Despite the small > payments he said he receives from his patrons in the Rolling 40s -- "$5 here, > $10 there" -- he buys his cigarettes one at a time. He goes out of his way to > avoid stores charging 50 cents in favor of the store asking 35 cents. > > "Somehow I eat every day," King said. > > He has an on-again, off-again relationship with the mother of his 2-year-old > son, Jamal Jr., but he struggles to pay for the train ticket to Riverside to > see them. Meanwhile, he and his friends meet women by shouting "eh!" as they > drive down Vermont Avenue with open windows. > > "We take care of ourselves," he said. "And sometimes a little girlfriend will > give me $5." > > He sometimes gets offers of legitimate work, but with no Social Security > number or way to cash paychecks, he has to turn them down. "The lady next > door wanted me to take down her roof, but she was writing checks," he said. > > A girlfriend wanted to move to Las Vegas and start a new life, but he didn't > want to go until his papers arrived. A friend's father offered a job > installing computer network wiring, but it too required identification. > > King first asked the Alliance for Children's Rights for help last November. > The firm, after struggling to navigate a judicial maze, finally persuaded a > Los Angeles Superior Court judge to act last month. The judge, using > statements from King's aunt and grandmother, verified his birthplace and > identity, and he ordered state officials to issue him a birth certificate. > King hopes to receive it before his 21st birthday in September. > > Until then, he lives with a short-term, day-to-day horizon. "I just try to > live in the present, come what may." > > garrett.therolf@ latimes.com > > __._,_.___ > Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic > Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Calendar > What is The Answer To The Greatest > Question?http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097871461X?ie=UTF8&seller=A1AVPSERX4... > > Click here to find out about Answer To The Greatest > Question:http://reasonmustprevail.org/ > orhttp://1smartest.net/ > > Visit the ultimate resource for defending liberty > > CLICK HERE:http://targetfreedom.typepad.com:80/ > > 1. Links to liberty defending organizations > 2. Links to liberty defending web pages > 3. Links to A MASSIVE assortment of liberty defending videos > 4. A stream lined system for contacting legislators with suggested letters > 5. Links to liberty defending egroups > 6. 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